Chemistry

Investigatory
Project

STUDY OF
OXALATE ION
CONTENT IN
GUAVA FRUIT
 ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

I wish to express my deep gratitude and sincere thanks to the

Principal Mrs for her encouragement and facilities that she provided
for this project.
I extend my hearty thanks to Ms, Chemistry teacher who guided me to
the successful completion of this project. I take this opportunity to
express my deep sense of gratitude for her/his invaluable guidance,
constant encouragement, constructive comment and immense
motivation which has sustained my efforts at all stages of the project
Last but not the least; I extend my thanks to my family and friends for
their constant support throughout the project

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 INDEX

Serial No. Topics Page No.

1 Certificate 1
2 Acknowledgement 2

3 Index 3
4 Aim 4
5 Introduction 5

6 Theory 8

7 Procedure 9
8 Observations 12
9 Calculations 13

10 Result 14
11 Precautions 16

12 Bibliography 18

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 AIM

i) To study the presence of oxalate ions in guava fruit at different

stages of ripening.

ii) To compare the oxalate content of different days ripened Guava.

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 INTRODUCTION

Guava is sweet, juicy and light or dark green coloured fruit. It is

cultivated in all parts of India. When ripe it acquires yellow colour
and has penetrating strong scent. The fruit is rich in vitamin C and
minerals. It is a rich source of oxalate and its content in the fruit
varies during different stages of ripening.
As one guava has a high content of vitamin C, one guava fruit
contains 4 times more vitamin C than an average size orange and 10
times more vitamin A than a lemon.

It also contains vitamin B2, E and K, fibre, calcium, copper,

folate, iron, manganese, phosphorous and potassium. With all the
nutrition that it provides, guava hardly contains any fats.

Guava is a common sweet fruit found in India and many other places
around the world. On ripening it turns yellow in colour. Rich in
vitamin C, this fruit is a rich source of oxalate ions whose content
varies during the different stages of ripening. Guavas have a
pronounced and typical fragrance, similar to lemon rind but less in
strength.

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What Is Oxalate?
Oxalate (IUPAC ethandionate) is a carboxylic acid, primarily found
in plants and animals. It is not an essential molecule and is excreted
from our body, unchanged. Our body either produces oxalate on its
own or converts other molecules like Vitamin C to oxalate. External
sources like food also contribute to the accumulation of oxalate in our
body. Many metal ions from insoluble precipitates with oxalate, a
prominent example calcium oxalate, the primary constituents of most
common kind of kidney stones. Diet is looked upon as a preventive
measure in addition to medicines to treat kidney stones. Read more
on what causes kidney stones

Some of the wider applications of guava is related to health.

They are:

 IMMUNITY BOOSTER
Vitamin C present in guava helps improve immunity and protects
us against common infections and pathogens.

 LOWERS RISK OF CANCER

Lycopene, quercetin, vitamin C and other polyphenols act as
potent antioxidants which neutralize free radicals generated in the
body, preventing the growth of the cancer cells.

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  DIABETES-FRIENDLY
Due to rich fibre content and low glycaemic index, guavas
prevent the development of diabetes. While the low glycaemic index
inhibits a sudden spike in sugar levels, the fibre content ensures the
sugar levels are well regulated

 HEART HEALTHY
Guavas improve the sodium and potassium balance of the body,
thereby regulating blood pressure in patients with hypertension.
Guavas also help lower the levels of triglycerides and bad cholesterol
(LDL), which contribute to the development of heart disease.

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 THEORY

Oxalate ions are extracted from the fruit by boiling pulp with dil.
H2SO4. Then oxalate ions are estimated volumetrically by titrating
the solution with standard KMnO4 solution.

Titration is a common laboratory method of quantitative chemical

analysis that is used to determine the unknown concentration of a
known reactant. Because volume measurements play a key role in
titration, it is also known as volumetric analysis. A reagent, called
the titrant or titrator, of a known concentration (a standard solution)
and volume is used to react with a solution of
the analyte or titrand, whose concentration is not known. Using a
calibrated burette or chemistry pipetting syringe to add the titrant, it
is possible to determine the exact amount that has been consumed
when the endpoint is reached. The endpoint is the point at which the
titration is complete, as determined by an indicator (see below). This
is ideally the same volume as the equivalence point—the volume of
added titrant at which the number of moles of titrant is equal to the
number of moles of analyte, or some multiple thereof (as
in polyprotic acids). In the classic strong acid-strong base titration,
the endpoint of a titration is the point at which the pH of the
reactant is just about equal to 7, and often when the solution takes
on a persisting solid colour as in the pink of phenolphthalein
indicator.

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 PROCEDURE

 Crush guava to a fine pulp using pestle and mortar.

 Weighed 50 g of the sample

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 Transferred the crushed pulp to a beaker and added about 50
ml dilute H2 SO4 to it.

 Boiled the content for about 10 minutes. Cooled and filtered

the contents in a 100 ml measuring flask.

 Made up the volume 100 ml by adding ample amount of

distilled water.

 Took 20 ml of the solution from the flask and added 20 ml of

dilute sulphuric acid to it.

 Heated the mixture to about 600 C and titrated it against

(n/10) KMnO4 solution taken in a burette till the end point
had an appearance of pink colour.

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 Repeated the above experiment with 50 g of 1day, 3 day and
5 day old guava fruits.

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 OBSERVATIONS

 Weight of guava fruit taken each time: 50.0 g

 Volume of guava extract taken in each titration: 20 ml

 Normality of KMnO₄ solution: 1/20 N

Burette Reading Volume of Concordant

Types of fruit
Initial Final KMnO4 (ml) Value (ml)
0 5.5 5.5
Fresh fruit 5.5
0 5.5 5.5
0 7.3 7.3
One day old 7.3
0 7.3 7.3
0 8.9 8.9
Three days old 8.9
0 8.9 8.9
0 10.3 10.3
Five days old 10.3
0 10.3 10.3

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 CALCULATIONS

Calculation of amount of oxalate ions in guava fruit:

Weight of guava fruit taken each time = 50 g

Volume of guava extract taken for each titration = 20 ml
For fresh guava:
Volume of KMnO4 Solution V1 = 5.5 ml
Normality of KMnO4 solution N1 = 0.05 N

Volume of guava fruit extract V2 = 20 ml

Normality of the oxalate ions in the guava extract N2 =?

V1N1= V2N2
N2= V1N1/V2
N2 = 5.5 x0.05/20
= 0.01375 N

Strength of oxalate ions in 50g fresh guava extract

=Noxalate x 44 g/litre
=0.01375 x 44
=0.605 g/litre

Similarly, it can be calculated for1 day,3 day and 5 day old Guava
sample

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 Result

The content of oxalate ions in fresh guava was found to be 60.05%,

which is close to the literature value of 60%

It was also found that the amount of oxalate content varies with
ripening of fruits. Among the five days of guava, fresh fruits had
minimum oxalate content. As days went on during ripening the
oxalate content increased progressive and had the maximum oxalate
content in the fully ripe fruit.

The presence of oxalate in excess is injurious to health. It also

contains oxalate amount of which varies with ripening of the fruit.
Hence, excess of ripe guavas should be avoided in one’s diet.

Normality of
Types of fruit Strength (g/l)
Oxalate Ion

Fresh fruit 0.01375 0.605

One day old 0.01825 0.803

Three days old 0.02225 0.979

Five days old 0.02575 1.133

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 Types of Fruit
1.2 1.133

0.979
1
0.803
0.8
0.605
0.6

0.4

0.2

0
Fresh fruit One day old Three days old Five days old

Strength (g/l) (LHS)

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 PRECAUTIONS

 KMnO4 solution is always taken in the burette.

 Avoid the use of burette having a rubber tap as KMnO4

attacks rubber.

 In order to get some idea about the temperature of the

solution touch the flask to the back side of your hand. When it
becomes unbearable to touch, the required temperature is
reached.

 Add about an equal volume of dil. H2SO4 to the guava extract

to be titrated (say a full test tube) before adding KMnO4 .

 Read the upper meniscus while taking burette reading with

KMnO4 solution.

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 In case, on addition of KMnO4 a brown ppt. appears, this
shows that either H2SO4 has not been added or has been
added in insufficient amount. In such a case, throw away the
solution and titrate again.

 The concentration of oxalate ion obtained from the filtrate is

unfavourably high. If the titration is carried with concentrated
filtrate, the scale of the burette is out of scope in regard to
the concentration of the oxalate ion. So diluting the
concentrated

 Filtrate to an appropriate proportion and titrating it with

KMnO4 and estimating the end point will make it favourable.
After estimating the end from the diluted solution, the
original concentration of the concentrated filtrate can be
calculated by multiplying the concentration the estimated
filtrate with the factor by which it was diluted.

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 BIBLIOGRAPHY

 INDIAN INSTITUTE OF APPLIED SCIENCE:

http://www.ias.ac.in/currsci/aug102001/2
48.pdf

 www.wikipedia.org

 Comprehensive Practical Chemistry for Class XII

 www.scribd.com

 Asian J. Research Chem. 10(5): September-October 2017:

Determination of the age of Guava from the Oxalate Ion and
Ascorbic Acid contents and the determination of the rate of
change of Oxalate Ion and Ascorbic Acid contents with respect
to the age of Guava

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